THEY ARE ENOUGH — Young girls who attend the She Rises class led by Steubenville resident Jerica Brown, take part in a variety of crafts and activities where they learn they are enough. Brown leads a class at the YMCA and at the Sycamore Youth Center and held summer camp classes for Indian Creek Middle School. The purpose of the class is for girls to understand they are beautiful just the way they are and instilled with not allowing negative comments to ruin their lives. -- Contributed

STEUBENVILLE — Self worth. It isn’t something everyone possesses … especially when it comes to today’s children.

Hatred can be found in more places than we care to look — in schools, online, at home.

But six months ago, a seed of hope was planted in our community.

That seed has grown into a nonprofit organization called She Rises, created to give middle- and high school girls a safe, supportive space to discover confidence, self-love and a strong sense of self-worth.

Through affirmation-based classes, girls are guided to practice positive self-talk, to release negative thoughts and emotions and learn to embrace themselves exactly as God created them.

With each new vision they perceive of themselves, they begin to rise.

This was the concept formed by its founder, Jerica Brown, who explained each class is filled with creativity and connection.

Crafts which are centered on original affirmation words, peer encouragement and guided moments of reflection, allows participants to express themselves — whether aloud or privately.

Negative thinking is transformed into positive perspective.

Kind interactions, mutual respect and open conversations build a sense of community where every girl is seen, accepted and heard.

A LESSON IN THE POSITIVES — Jerica Brown led a summer camp at Indian Creek Middle School through the She Rises nonprofit. -- Contributed

“She Rises exists to help girls develop a mindset that supports emotional resilience, self-love, self-worth, appreciation and acceptance,” Brown stated. “By consistently practicing affirmation statements, the girls gain tools that will help them daily to navigate challenges, criticism, or negativity with confidence and clarity, while embracing their own unique identity and potential.”

The inspiration for She Rises came from a deeply personal place for Brown.

Growing up in Defiance, Ohio, and currently living in Steubenville, Brown, herself, struggled with self-esteem and self-worth.

She commented how she remembers at the age or 11 or 12 standing before the large mirror in her childhood home, fighting with her reflection. Her belief was that she had to look “perfect” before walking out the door.

She recalled how her mother never left the house without having her hair flawless, her makeup, done. That image became internalized for the young girl.

ACTIVITIES –– Class activities include writing down all of one’s negative feelings and placing positive messages into a jar to read each day whenever young girls enrolled in fifth through 12 grade, are feeling sad or alone. Brown includes a blank Jenga tile game where positive words are written on the tiles to reinforce the message these girls are enough. -- Contributed

Acceptance, she thought, meant being polished and put together, never less than perfect.

Brown stated she would sometimes cry to her mother. Other times, she kept her feelings to herself.

It wasn’t that she was ever bullied or teased. No, throughout high school she was popular, had many friends and her home was always the “hang out” for other teenagers.

And still, despite having all of these positives, there was just something inside her that said she had to be all of these things, all of the time.

But life and eventually, motherhood, taught her something different.

“There will always be someone with a prettier face, a better career or a life that seems more put together,” Brown said. “But none of that defines my value or worth. God created me intentionally, uniquely and with my own purpose.”

“Comparing myself to others only held me back from stepping into the potential where I was meant to be,” she continued. “In the end, no one else can be me, just like no one else can be them. We are all unique and beautiful in our own ways.”

That realization became the heart of She Rises.

Brown noted how girls, today, face constant comparison — whether it be on social media, in school and throughout their everyday life.

The mission of She Rises is simple; and yet, profound.

The local nonprofit’s purpose is to create a nurturing space where each and every girl can confidently look into the mirror and say to herself, “I am enough.”

This powerful sentiment is the cornerstone of the organization, led by Brown, whose dedicated efforts are shaping the self-perception of young women across the Ohio Valley.

The mission statement of She Rises is a resonant declaration: “Her silence echoed with power. Her voice became the truth: I am enough.”

This life-changing statement is not just a motto. It is a truth taught to all fifth- through 12th-grade girls who enroll in Brown’s classes. These uplifting sessions are held in various locations, including the Sycamore Youth Center, located at 301 N. Fourth St. in Steubenville. The class meets on Mondays and Thursdays.

A class is taught at the Steubenville YMCA from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. each Friday in Studio A. She has taught a class at Indian Creek Middle School during its summer camp program to instill self-worth in attendees.

Class sizes range from a handful of students to approximately 15, ensuring a close, personal setting where vulnerability can thrive.

“Every single girl in class may be shy or embarrassed to share their negative thoughts,” Brown commented. “But they truly do trust in me and I can easily relate to them and share my stories. They open up instantly and I thank them for trusting me. I let them know it is OK to feel embarrassed to share these thoughts out loud, because we all feel the same.”

For those taking Brown’s class, the transformation begins quickly, often during the very first session.

“Seeing the girls open up to me during the negative thoughts and emotions activity is absolutely beautiful,” Brown shared. “They trust me in their very first class. My hope is to give them the encouragement I once needed, and to empower them to rise into the strong, beautiful individuals they were made to be.”

Brown keeps the material fresh and engaging.

“I do new activities each week and try to make the classes fun for the girls, but I want them to learn how to love themselves for the beautiful girls they are,” she continued. “They are all truly God’s gifts in their own unique way, and I love being able to bring She Rises into their lives.”

Among the core activities are creating She Rises glass jars designed for positive affirmation. Each girl fills her personal jar with notes, all of which must begin with, “I am.” Examples include, “I am enough,” “I am loved,” and “I am beautiful.”

“The girls make these jars for themselves to have something positive at home if they are having a bad day, down on themselves, or just need something to make their day better,” Brown said. “They will grab a note in the morning, anytime during the day or before bed and practice saying that phrase. Other girls can write nice phrases as well, and add it to others’ jars.”

Brown utilizes a diverse array of activities in which to instill these lessons, including having the students involved in making vision boards, bracelets, slime and salt dough ornaments.

She has played glow-in-the-dark basketball with them, having the girls write positive words beginning with specific letters; and defining what the word “beautiful” means to them.

She created an affirmation Jenga game using blank tiles written with positive words as well.

Her favorite activity, however, is when she asks the girls to define the meaning of the mission statement.

“I love seeing the girls work so hard trying to define the two sentences,” Brown said. “After they complete this special activity, I inform them of what it actually means to me and to She Rises and they said, ‘Wow!'”

These creative, hands-on lessons all serve a singular purpose: To reinforce that every young girl possesses intrinsic worth.

That is an important lesson to teach today’s children, as so many young people truly believe they are not enough.

A craft is used by Brown in which the girls use popsicle sticks to write how they are feeling, or to write something mean that someone has said to them.

Their replies have been heartbreaking, which is why Brown does what she does.

Among the writings on the popsicle sticks are the words: Bullied, anxious, depressed, suicidal, too skinny, too fat, annoying, numb, not enough and stupid.

The sticks are then placed into a mason jar as a release … to let those feelings go.

The sticks are read aloud to the class, with no names attached. The class then changes those negative words into positive ones, learning to love themselves for who they are and realizing their worth, rather than believing what other people say about them.

“I encourage them that this is a part of the class that is important — to let out the negative so they can grow from the experience,” Brown explained. “I cut out paper hearts and had the girls write their negative thoughts on them. Then, I told them to crumple up that heart and open it back up. The heart displayed wrinkles. I told the girls that just like this heart, the wrinkles do not come out. That it’s important to be kind to ourselves and to others because words stick and hurt when we talk negatively. We can’t undo negative words that we speak to others.”

The biggest heartache she has yet encountered, is when she hears girls between the ages of 10 and 12 who think negatively about themselves and say they have had suicidal thoughts.

“It hurts me to know they feel that way at such a young age,” Brown shared. “I ask if they can speak to their parent or a guardian. If not, I ask if they have a counselor and offer the teen suicide hotline number, providing them with what information I am allowed to give them. I had one girl that kept saying she needed the mental hospital. She came to my class and 30 minutes later she said she felt so much better and wasn’t as sad or depressed anymore.”

Brown said the girls will inquire why they are not allowed to talk to her rather than a hotline or counselor.

“That is the only part that is tough — not being able to fully be there like some of the girls would like,” Brown replied. But it is my job to make sure they have the right resources and guidance in those types of situations. I know 30 minutes isn’t going to cure someone. But to instill the positive affirmations and activities that make that one girl within just 30 minutes feel better, that was touching to hear.”

“I wanted to be the first young woman in the valley to offer this class to every single girl here,” Brown stated. “I wanted to bring a positive change into the community. A class, a nonprofit that didn’t exist here, to show up for young girls the way I needed someone to show up for me.”

“I am very passionate about really wanting the girls in this community to feel that they are enough and loved, exactly the way they are,” she continued. “I show up every Friday night just in case there is that one girl who really needs what She Rises offers. If I can make one girl smile, love herself, believe she is enough and feel better after she leaves my class, than I am serving the community and She Rises with the purpose I intended.”

Her hope for the near future is to have local schools reach out to her to speak with the young girls, and for churches or area nonprofits request a class be taught.

She is interested in doing a pop-up class during an event such as First Fridays on Fourth Street or Wednesdays in Wintersville.

Brown first began the nonprofit in April and did not create the title She Rises until August. She is currently working on having business cards made and getting her organization out into the public.

While Holy Rosary Church includes in its newsletter her Friday classes at the YMCA, and signs are displayed inside the YMCA, she has yet to have a Facebook page available.

Those wanting to contact Brown with questions or to ask her to teach a class, can reach her through e-mail at jericab41@gmail.com or by calling (740) 512-5227.

And in the end, the message instilled by She Rises has become clear across every room in which Brown teaches. And that is that every girl deserves to shine.